Two-stage protective car seat cover for child and infant safety chairs

ABSTRACT

There is provided a seat cover for accommodating a child safety chair upon a seat. The seat cover comprises a lower protective member which is disposable upon a seating portion of the seat. This lower member can accommodate the child safety chair when positioned in a rearward-facing direction to prevent it from permanently compressing the seating portion. The seat cover further comprises an upper protective member that is disposable against a seat-back portion of the seat. This upper member is selectively attachable with and detachable from the lower member. By doing so, the upper member can further prevent the chair from permanently compressing the seat-back portion when it is repositioned in a forward-facing direction and placed in contact therewith.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] (Not Applicable)

STATEMENT RE: FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH/DEVELOPMENT

[0002] (Not Applicable)

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0003] The present invention relates generally to seat covers, and moreparticularly to an improved, two-stage seat cover which transitions froma one-piece system for accommodating a rear-facing child safety chair toa two-piece system for accommodating a forward-facing one to prevent aseat from being soiled and permanently compressed thereby.

[0004] Child safety chairs have been marketed throughout the world formany years. It is now mandatory within the United States for parents toemploy child safety chairs when traveling in vehicles so that theirchildren are safe in case an unfortunate event such as a car accidentshould occur.

[0005] Child safety chairs on seats are typically positioned in twodirections depending upon the age and/or weight of the child using it.The safety chair is typically placed to face toward the vehicle's rearwhen it is used upon a small infant generally up to six months of age.As the infant matures in age and weight (i.e., six months up to eightyears or eighty pounds in weight), the child safety chair is usuallyturned around so that it faces toward the front of the vehicle.

[0006] Existing safety restraints such as lap and shoulder belts aretypically utilized to harness the child safety chairs to the vehicularseats. However, a significant problem exists in that the weight of thesechairs are continuously applied upon the vehicular seats, thereby oftencausing permanent compression damages thereto. The degree of permanentcompression damage can drastically increase given the fact that theweight of infant or child has to be accounted for in addition to thesafety chair's weight. Most parents have found such damage to be simplyunacceptable as they permanently deforms the seats of their vehicles.

[0007] Further marring to the vehicular seats can occur when infants orchildren using the child safety chairs inadvertently soil the seats, forexample, by diaper leaks on accidental spilling of their drinks and/orfood.

[0008] To alleviate these problems, many parents resort to using seatcoverings such as plastic sheets, rubber mats and foam padded blanketsbetween the vehicular seats and the child safety chairs. Though theseseat coverings generally achieve their primary objective of protectingvehicular seats, they possess certain deficiencies which detract fortheir overall utility.

[0009] Perhaps the greatest deficiency of such coverings is theirinability to protect the entirety of the vehicular seats. Specifically,plastic sheets, rubber mats and padded blankets are essentially tailoredto cover only the seating portions of the vehicular seats and may beuseful when accommodating a rearward-facing safety chair as itdistributes weight solely on the seating portion of the vehicular seat.However, when the chair is repositioned to be forward-facing, thesecoverings typically cannot prevent the chair from further contacting theexposed seat-back portion of the vehicular seat thereby inevitablydispersing its weight thereto. Although multiple layers of plasticsheets, rubber mats or padded blankets may theoretically be spread overthe seats, such arrangement will be aesthetically unpleasing, not tomention being awkward and difficult to maintain as they are not designedfor such use.

[0010] In view of the above-described shortcomings of conventionalvehicular seat coverings, there exists a need in the art for a vehicularseat cover that can optimally accommodate both rearward and forwardfacing child safety chairs, the directions of which are critical atvarious stages of a child's growth. More specifically, there exists aneed for a vehicular seat cover which can prevent vehicular seats frombecoming soiled and permanently compressed irrespective of theorientations that the child safety chairs take.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0011] The present invention specifically addresses and alleviates theabove-referenced deficiencies associated with the use of the seatcoverings of the prior art. More particularly, the present invention isan improved, two-stage seat cover which may easily alternate betweenone-piece and two-piece configurations so as to accommodate both rearand forward facing child safety chairs. As will be demonstrated below,the present seat cover's adaptability to transition between suchconfigurations allows an infant and/or child to be safely carried withina vehicle, while preventing the vehicular seats from being damaged byaccidental soiling or permanent compressions caused by theweight-bearing child safety chairs.

[0012] In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the presentinvention, there is provided a two-stage seat cover for preventing avehicular seat from being soiled or permanently deformed by a childsafety chair which continuously applies its weight thereupon. The seatcover of the present invention comprises a lower rigid/semi-rigidprotective member which is disposable upon a seating portion of thevehicular seat. The lower protective member is specifically designed foraccommodating a rearward-facing safety chair as it is solely the chair'sbase section that contacts and thus applies weight to the seat at theseating portion. By using the lower protective member between the safetychair and the seating portion, the weight of the chair is distributedover the entire surface area of the protective member to thereby reduceany force generated by the weight from deforming the seating portion.Hence, the seating portion is prevented from suffering any permanentcompression deformation.

[0013] The lower protective member additionally includes a lowerperipheral edge which forms a ridge-like configuration substantiallytherearound. This ridge may be formed by shaping the lower peripheraledge in that configuration, or alternatively, by selectively extendingan elongate strip around the lower peripheral edge. If the latter stepis taken, the strip should be fabricated from a rigid or semi-rigidmaterial (e.g., rubber) so that a configuration of a ridge is maintainedat all times. By providing the ridge, any spills such as spilled drinksor diaper leaks originating from the child safety chair are maintainedwithin the ridge and on the top surface of the protective member toprevent them from contacting and soiling any part of the seat and/orvehicular interiors.

[0014] Optionally, at least one pocket may be provided on the lowerforward edge part of the lower protective member. Such pocket(s) may beany type which can adequately hold various items (e.g., baby bottles,toys, etc.) therein such as a mesh pocket, for example. The pocket maybe attached to the lower forward edge by multiple means such ashook-and-loop strips (commonly called the Velcro) or by simply usingpermanent fasteners.

[0015] In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the seatcover also features an upper protective member which is selectivelyattachable to the lower protective member and is disposable against aseat-back portion of the vehicular seat. The upper protective member isspecifically designed to be used in combination with the lowerprotective member for accommodating a forward-facing safety chair as itfurther applies its weight to the seat-back portion of the seat inaddition to the seating portion. By providing the upper protectivemember when desired, the force generated by the weight of theforward-facing chair may similarly be more evenly distributed thereby soas to replace localized compression forces on the seat-back portion ofthe vehicle seat. Thus, the seat-back portion, as well as the seatingportion, can be protected from becoming permanently deformed by thecontinuous weight imposed by the child safety chair.

[0016] The upper and lower protective members may be releasibly attachedto each other through one of many known conventional methods. One ofsuch preferred methods is employing the hook-and-loop fastening(commonly called Velcro). More specifically, a hook strip can be formedadjacent the upper bottom edge of the upper protective member, whereas aloop strip can be formed adjacent the lower rear edge of the lowerprotective member. However, one of ordinary skill in the art willrecognize that an alternate arrangement may also be possible where thehook strip is defined adjacent the lower rear edge and the loop strip isdefined adjacent the upper bottom edge. By utilizing this hook-and-looparrangement, the upper protective member can easily and conveniently beattachable and detachable with respect to the lower protective member.

[0017] In operation, the present two-stage seat cover is used accordingto a child's growth progression for the purpose of accommodating a childsafety chair upon a vehicular seat. As mentioned above, a parenttypically utilizes the safety chair in a rearward-facing direction whenhis or her child is in the infant stage (i.e., below six months of age).To accommodate the rearward-facing safety chair, the parent may solelylay the lower protective member on the seat's seating portion such thatthe rearward-facing safety chair can be accommodated thereuponsubstantially within its formed ridge-like configuration. In thisrespect, the risk of permanent compression damage to the seating portionis significantly mitigated as the force generated by the chair's weightis more uniformly distributed by the lower protective member. Of course,any spillage originating from the safety chair will be contained withinthe vertical barrier formed by the lower member's ridge configuration.

[0018] When the infant matures in age and weight (i.e., six months up toeight years or eighty pounds in weight), the child safety chair must beturned around so that it now faces the front of the vehicle. In order tofurther prevent the weight of the forward-facing chair from beingdirectly applied to the seat's seat-back portion, the upper protectivemember is disposed therebetween. More particularly, the upper member'shook strip can be abutted to the lower member's loop strip forreleasible attachment between the upper and lower protective members. Bydoing so, further weight applied to the seat-back portion by theforward-facing chair is sufficiently distributed by the upper protectivemember so as to protect against permanent compression damage.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] These as well as other features of the present invention willbecome more apparent upon reference to the drawings wherein:

[0020]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a two-stage seat cover constructedin accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present inventiondisposed upon a vehicular seat;

[0021]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a lower protective member of theseat cover shown in FIG. 1 and illustrating its placement on the seat'sseating portion to accommodate a rearward-facing child safety chairthereupon;

[0022]FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the seat cover of FIG. 1 formed byattaching an upper protective member to the lower protective member ofFIG. 2 and illustrating a forward-facing child safety chair which isaccommodated thereupon; and

[0023]FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the seat cover of FIG. 1and illustrating its hook and loop strips for releasibly attaching thelower and upper protective members together and attaching an optionalstorage pocket.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0024] Referring now to the drawings wherein the showings are forpurposes of illustrating preferred embodiments of the present inventiononly, and not for purposes of limiting the same, FIG. 1 perspectivelyillustrates a two-stage seat cover 10 constructed in accordance with apreferred embodiment of the present invention. As indicated above, thepresent seat cover 10 can easily alternate between one-piece andtwo-piece configurations for accommodating both rear and forward facingchild safety chairs 12, 14. As will be come more apparent infra, thisability to transition between such configurations helps prevent avehicular seat 16 such as a car seat from being damaged by accidentalsoiling or permanent compressions caused by the weight-bearing childsafety chairs 12, 14. It is recognized herein that the present seatcover 10 may be utilized with other types of seats other than vehicularseats 16.

[0025] Referring more particularly to FIGS. 1 and 4, the seat cover 10of the present invention is comprised of a lower protective member 18and an upper protective member 20. Although those figures specificallyshow the lower and upper protective members 18, 20 as being generallyrectangular, it will be recognized by one of ordinary skill in the artthat any shapes, configurations, sizes and/or geometries that cansubstantially accommodate the safety chair 12 or 14 thereupon arecontemplated herein. Additionally, the lower and upper protective member18, 20 may provide a variety forms of textures. However, it is preferredthat the lower and upper protective members 18, 20 are each fabricatedfrom a rigid or semi-rigid material that additionally possesses tactilefrictionally grip properties, and/or provides at least some degree ofcushioning to, the child safety chair 12 or 14. An exemplary materialfor this purpose is a polymer, foamed polymer and/or foam rubber, butother foamed polymer and/or materials are expressly contemplated herein.Optionally, a washable protective cover 22 such as the one made of anylon fabric may encapsulate the lower and upper protective members 18,20 so as to protect their materials from being soiled by a spillage forexample.

[0026] Referring now to FIG. 2 only, the lower protective member 18 isadapted to be disposed upon a seating portion 24 of the vehicular seat16. The lower protective member 18 accommodates a rearward-facing safetychair 12 by itself as it is only the chair's base section 26 whichcontacts and thus applies weight to the seating portion 24. By beingplaced between the safety chair 12 and the seating portion 24, the lowerprotective member 18 operates to more uniformly distribute the chairweight and infant weight across the surface area of the seating portion24. Hence, the risk of permanent compression damage to the seatingportion 24 is significantly mitigated.

[0027] The lower protective member 18 preferably includes a lowerperipheral edge 28 which defines the outer boundaries thereof. The lowerperipheral edge 28 is generally formed by a lower forward edge 30(disposed away from the upper protective member 20), a lower rear edge32 (disposed toward the upper member 20) and two lower side edges 34interconnecting them. Although not mandatory, the lower peripheral edge28 forms a ridge-like configuration 36 substantially therearound (i.e.except its lower forward edge 30). However, an alternate configurationforms the ridge 36 around the entirety of the lower peripheral edge 28.

[0028] The ridge 36 may be integrally having various heights with thelower protective member 18. Alternatively, an elongate strip 38 may beselectively extended around the lower peripheral edge 28 to form thedesired ridge 36. In this latter embodiment, such strip 38 is preferablyconstructed from a rigid or semi-rigid material (e.g., polymer onrubber) so that the configuration of a ridge 36 can be sustainedirrespective of various pressures impacting the same. By providing thisridge 36, any spills such as spilled drinks or diaper leaks originatingfrom the child safety chair 12 or 14 can be contained within theboundary set thereby to prevent them from flowing out and soiling anypart of the seat 16 and/or vehicular interior.

[0029] Optionally, the lower protective member 18 may have at least onestorage pocket 40 which may be extended from its lower forward edge 30.The pocket(s) 40 may be any type of pocket which can adequately holdvarious items (e.g., baby bottles, toys, etc.) therein. One example ofsuch pocket may be a mesh pocket which defines from one to any number ofsufficiently deepened pouches. The pocket(s) 40 may be remarkablymounted to the lower forward edge 30 in any conventional manner such asusing hook-and-loop or fasteners and/or snaps or zippers. Furthermore,the lower protective member 18 may optionally include at least onefolding line 42 which extends between the two lower side edges 34. Thisfolding line(s) 42 allows the lower protective member 18 to be folded soas to facilitate carrying thereof when it is not in use and furtherbetter accommodate any curvature the seat portion 24.

[0030] Referring now to FIGS. 1, 3 and 4, the upper protective member 20is configured to be disposed against a seat-back portion 44 of thevehicular seat 16. The upper protective member 20 is used in combinationwith the lower protective member 18 so that a forward-facing childsafety chair 14 can be accommodated collectively thereby. The upperprotective member 20 is adapted to be generally contiguous with thesurface of the seat-back portion 44. In this regard, when the childsafety chair 14 is placed in the forward-face direction, the chair's topsection 46 further contacts and thus applies its weight thereto inaddition to the chair's base section 26 applying weight to the seatingportion 24.

[0031] It is preferred that the upper protective member 20 can beselectively attachable with and detachable from the lower protectivemember 18. By providing the upper protective member 20 when desired, thecompressive force generated by the weight of the forward-facing chair 14may be more uniformly distributed upon the entire surface area of theseat portion 44 so as to lessen the continuous impact of the chair 14 atthe seat-back portion 44. Therefore, the seat-back portion 44 of thevehicular seat 16, as well as its seating portion 24, can be adequatelyprotected from becoming permanently deformed by the continuous weightrespectively imposed by the top and base sections 46, 26 of theforward-facing child safety chair 14.

[0032] The upper protective member 20 has an upper peripheral edge 48defining the outer boundaries thereof. The upper peripheral edge 48 ischaracterized by an upper top edge 50 (disposed away from the lowerprotective member 18), an upper bottom edge 52 (disposed toward thelower protective member 18) and two upper side edges 54 interconnectingthem. The upper protective member 20 may optionally have at least onefolding line 56 that can extend between the two upper side edges 54which allows it to similarly be folded for ease of carrying and conformto the curvature of the seat portion 44. Further optional is a trimming58 which may be extended between the upper side edges 54 through theupper top edge 50. Although this trimming 58 may be any type or form, itis preferably a nylon fabric trimming. Moreover, a person of ordinaryskill in the art will recognize that a variety of indicia such ascompany names, designs or logos may be inscribed within the upperperipheral edge 48.

[0033] As illustrated in FIG. 4, the upper and lower protective memberscan be releasibly attached to each other by preferably employing thehook-and-loop strips (commonly called the Velcro) formed therebetween.However, one of ordinary skill in the art will realize that suchreleasible attachment may be accomplished via other known conventionalmethods (e.g., releasible pins, buttons, etc.). In particular, a hookstrip 60 is formed adjacent the upper bottom edge 52 of the upperprotective member 20. A loop strip 62 is formed adjacent the lower rearedge 32 of the lower protective member 18. It is easily contemplated,however, that the positioning of the hook and loop strips 60, 62 bereversed such that the hook strip 60 is formed adjacent the lower rearedge 32 and the loop strip 62 is formed adjacent the upper bottom edge52. By utilizing this hook-and-loop arrangement, the upper protectivemember 20 can easily and conveniently be attached and detached withrespect to the lower protective member 18.

[0034] In operation, the present two-stage seat cover 10 is usedaccording to a child's growth progression and accommodates a childsafety chair 12, 14 upon a vehicular seat 16 without inflicting anydamage thereto. Typically, a parent positions the safety chair 12 in arearward-facing direction when his or her child is in the infant stage(i.e., below six months of age). In this scenario, the lower protectivemember 18 is used without the upper protective member 20 and is placedupon the seating portion 24. The rearward-facing child safety chair 12may then be set upon the lower protective member 18 substantially withinits formed ridge-like configuration 36. By doing so, the risk ofpermanent compression damage to the seating portion 24 is significantlyreduced as the force generated by the chair's weight is more uniformlydistributed by (i.e. disbursed) the lower protective member 18. Ofcourse, any spillage (i.e., spilled drinks, diaper leakage) coming fromthe child safety chair 12 or 14 will be contained within ridge 36 as itforms a vertical substantially around the lower peripheral edge 28.

[0035] As the infant matures in age and weight (i.e., six months up toeight years or eighty pounds in weight), the child safety chair 14 mustbe turned around so that it now faces the front of the vehicle. Theupper protective member 20 is placed between the chair's top section 46and the seat-back portion 44 to alleviate the weight of theforward-facing chair 14 from being directly applied to the seat-backportion 44. To accomplish such end, the upper member's hook strip 60 isreleasibly attached to the lower member's loop strip 62. In thisrespect, weight applied to the seat-back portion 44 by theforward-facing chair 14 can be sufficiently distributed by the upperprotective member 20 in order to protect against permanent compressiondamages. The upper protective member 20 is easily detachable foradaptation toward the rearward-facing chair 12 so that the present seatcover 10 can be reused for other infants (e.g., younger siblings).

[0036] Additional modifications and improvements of the presentinvention may also be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art.Thus, the particular combination of parts described and illustratedherein is intended to represent only certain embodiments of the presentinvention, and is not intended to serve as limitations of alternativedevices within the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A seat cover for accommodating a child safetychair upon a seat having seating and seat-back portions, the seat covercomprising: a lower protective member disposable upon the seatingportion of the seat, the lower member accommodating the child safetychair when positioned in a rearward-facing direction for preventing thechair from permanently compressing the seating portion; and an upperprotective member disposable against the seat-back portion of the seat,the upper member being selectively attachable with and detachable fromthe lower member for further preventing the chair from permanentlycompressing the seat-back portion when the chair is repositioned in aforward-facing direction and placed in contact therewith.
 2. The seatcover of claim 1 wherein the seat is a vehicular seat.
 3. The seat coverof claim 1 wherein the lower and upper protective members are eachfabricated from a material sized and configured to provide cushioning tothe child safety chair.
 4. The seat cover of claim 3 wherein thecushioning material is rubber.
 5. The seat cover of claim 4 wherein therubber is foam rubber.
 6. The seat cover of claim 3 wherein thecushioning material is sponge.
 7. The seat cover of claim 3 wherein thelower and upper protective members each comprise a protective coverwhich encapsulates the cushioning material.
 8. The seat cover of claim 7wherein the protective cover is fabricated from fabric.
 9. The seatcover of claim 8 wherein the fabric is nylon.
 10. The seat cover ofclaim 1 wherein the lower and upper protective members are eachfabricated from a material sized and configured to frictionally grip thechild safety chair.
 11. The seat cover of claim 1 wherein the lowerprotective member defines a lower peripheral edge, the lower peripheraledge forming a ridge-like configuration substantially therearound forcontaining spills therewithin.
 12. The seat cover of claim 11 whereinthe lower peripheral edge comprises an elongate strip extendingsubstantially therearound for forming the ridge-like configuration. 13.The seat cover of claim 12 wherein the elongate strip is an elongaterubber strip.
 14. The seat cover of claim 1 wherein the lower protectivemember defines a lower forward edge, the lower forward edge comprisingat least one pocket extending therefrom for containing items therein.15. The seat cover of claim 14 wherein the at least one pocket is atleast one mesh pocket.
 16. The seat cover of claim 1 wherein the lowerprotective member has a lower rear edge forming a loop strip adjacentthereto, the upper protective member having an upper bottom edge forminga hook strip adjacent thereto, the loop and hook strips being releasiblyattachable with each other.
 17. The seat cover of claim 1 wherein thelower and upper protective members each comprise at least one foldingline for facilitating folding thereof.
 18. The seat cover of claim 1wherein the upper protective member has an upper peripheral edgecomprising a trimming substantially therearound.
 19. The seat cover ofclaim 18 wherein the trimming is fabricated from fabric.
 20. The seatcover of claim 19 wherein the fabric is nylon.